1989 Tobruk encounter between two F-14 Tomcats of the USS John F. Kennedy and two MiG-23 Floggers of Libya. Unsurprisingly, the Tomcats come out on top.

Comments

dcmbb3 : _hey_
Hey
HEY
The MiG's flew right into the
*DANGERZONE*
funny joke.
Kept trying to make text more *bold* with more of these things > * <
but sadly doesn't work like that.

Raymond Mars : If I can remember, an incident like this incident caused a stir about President Reagan and when to wake him up. His reply was classic, "If they had knocked down one of ours, then it would be right to wake me up. Since it was theirs shot down, why wake me up?".

Jerry Oswald : I remember this encounter in the news back when it happened. Libya tried to extend the international recognized 200 nautical mile limit from its shores to 500 miles. The American planes were sent to challenge that by flying just outside of the 200 mile limit and the Libyan Air Force was sent to respond. So no, the F-14s were not on routine patrol, they were on troll patrol.

Rockme Raynes : Hey, those migs didnt have to play the game. They chose to.

David Gagliardo : Back when this happened, President Reagan said it best....."They counted on America to be passive. They counted wrong."

MatthewJon : Because I was inverted.

JOWNZ88 : The Mig was the agressor here. The f-14 changed course 5 times before attacking. You can not do that unless you want to fight. They probably should have thought it through a little better.

Edge : just another day playing with the toys.

Paul A Ryan : As the Tomcat slogan went "ANY TIME BABY"

Sacred Raisin Cakes : There's a delightful lack of kebab in the comments.

Edwin Arcilla : This reminds me of Cougar when he freaked out after he got locked on.

Andre Gagne : To those saying "i cant see anything', at these speeds and weaponry, if you see your enemy, you are dead - do not depend on Hollywood to present reality.

Paulphila215 : These Lybians were just trying to get their Plutonium back from Doc Brown! 😉😂

John G : It's not so much a comparison of aircraft and their capabilities... it's more a comment on superior training and, therefore, airmanship.

TheSoloAsylum : Can we send a few F14's to deal with the Indian tech support scammers?

Tsar Chasm : Moral of the story is, if you’re a weak African nation, do not waste your entire Air Force on two Tomcats

mr funkybuttlovin : I guess those MIGs flew into......THE DANGERZONE

Ammon Herrera : [KENNY LOGGINS INTENSIFIES]

Big Chungus : This actually really intense. Even though you can't see anything it's more exciting than a cgi dog fight in a movie because you know it's real.

F-14B Tomcat : I don't care what you say or believe in, neither pilots of the f-14's should be at fault. They were only doing their job. The Libyan MIG's had shown aggression to the tomcats.
(At around 7:21 you can hear one of the F-14 pilots or RIO's say, "he got a missile off".)
And that goes to the user @MiG23 Flogger

Rob Axl : The lybians only attacked because Doc from Back To The Future stole the plutonium from them

Timothy Gilliam : A bit confused. I was a crewmember onboard NIMITZ, CVN 68. We were in transit as a
“Freedom of Navigation Exercise,” in the Gulf of Sitre. I believe the F-14s were from our ship. I do know that a major press briefing was held onboard Nimitz when we sped north and hosted many international journalists in what I recall was Naples. This event was hosted by then Rear Admiral James Service. Here is the information I recall: 1 each VF-41 "Black Aces" and 1 each VF-84 "Jolly Rogers", flying F-14 Tomcats from Nimitz. I was Chief of OP Division and recall the pride and pace of producing that media package. Anyone that wishes to add to this, go for it. I am sure there are many others who were there. Note: VAdm James Edward Service passed on February 10, 2017 at the age of 86. He was a great leader who inspired many to their success.

Harambe : Those that are saying that America had no right to blow them out of the sky didn’t pay attention to the video. The F-14s tried 5 times (he says it) to divert their course and all 5 times they were followed by the migs when, if I heard correctly, they were locked on to. They had every right to obliterate those dumbasses

Rob Billeaud : Right off the bat, the narrator is wrong, he calls it a supersonic dogfight but you can clearly hear the pilots call out the speed as 430, 450 and 500 kts., well below supersonic speed.

Allen Hughes : Mess with the bull and you'll get the horns.

Jacob Linden : Russia releases computer animation of its “powerful force” the US laughs and releases footage of Russian tech it burned

Chris Jones : Was I supposed to bring out my VHS player to watch this?

GOLDENEYE 1124 : I’m too close for missles switching to guns.

firestream93 : "If you were directly above him, how could you tell what he was doing?"
"Because I was inverted."

RizzNice : I was on this MED Cruise with the Marine A-6 squadron when this happened... seems like 100 years ago. no internet, no cell phones, just a lotta long days and nights

David Shaw : The Russian salesman lied about the MiG-23 being the best fighter jet in the world. Libya should get a refund.

330kV 330kV : C'mon guys, of course the recordings are poor, it is 1989 when this incident occurred after all. The important point is how the US pilots respond.

Curtis Brechter : I was on the USS John F. Kennedy in Crash & Salvage the day this happened. It was my birthday and I worked nights at sea (7pm-7am). When I came up from the coop to work that night everyone was laughing and smiling and talking about the Tomcats shooting down the Migs. A few days later after the video was edited to remove info on the video the all of ships company got to see and hear this very video. It's been 30 years since I've heard this. I'm a lil emotional about this cause ...GOD DAMN IT that was my shipmates and my ship that did this and made all of us damn proud to be a American sailor that day. Good shooting good hunting you hot dogs in those Tomcats!!!

Randal Flagg : Talk to me Goose :-D

American pirate : A Salute to ALL Military members an Thank You .

Ylem 500 : When will we get the declassified video from the F14 vs Mig 28 dogfight?

Neil Griffiths : A hint of panic in the US pilots voice? But then, I remembered, he could die at any second - so actually, pretty damn cool. Well done USN!